2 Ill. Guard soldiers killed in Afghan blast

February 09, 2009

Two Illinois National Guard soldiers were killed Sunday as they tried to help police defuse a roadside bomb in southern Helmand province, the epicenter of the fight against militants and drug traffickers, authorities said.

The soldiers' names were not available. The Defense Department does not release the names of casualties until 24 hours after families are notified.

Just before 10 a.m. Sunday, Afghan police detected a bomb in the Loi Bagh, or "Big Garden," area of Nad Ali district, the center of a new push by the Afghan government and NATO against the illicit poppy trade and Taliban-led militants, said Daud Ahmadi, spokesman for the Helmand governor.

"They could not neutralize it," Ahmadi said. "So they asked their American friends to come and neutralize it. They were almost finished, but unfortunately, the bomb exploded."

The blast killed two U.S. soldiers, an Afghan policeman and one Afghan civilian, according to the spokesman's office for U.S. forces here. The civilian was an interpreter, Afghan authorities said. The bomb also wounded two police officers, including the new Nad Ali police commander, Ahmadi said.

Other officials confirmed that the two U.S. soldiers were from a police mentor team with the Illinois National Guard. About 3,000 soldiers have been sent throughout the country to train the Afghan police and troops in the Illinois Guard's largest deployment since World War II.

Guard officials in Afghanistan declined to comment on the explosion. Ahmadi said the area had been swept recently for roadside bombs and militants.